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Just how unlikely is it that three former Spartan quarterbacks would get wins in the NFL today? Drew Stanton had his first start since and 2010 helped the Cardinals beat the woeful Giants, Brian Hoyer led the Browns to a surprising victory over the Saints, and Kirk Cousins stepped in for an injured Robert Griffin to smash the Jaguars.

Stanton-ed

Pity the Michigan State quarterback in the NFL draft. Kirk Cousins was selected in the fourth round today by the Washington Redskins. Being selected by Washington is bad enough, but the 'Skins had already selected Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick. So KC1 has ended up in a scenario where he either plays the bad guy by outperforming the top draft pick, who is much loved by the media, or he's left with little opportunity to prove he can play the game at an NFL-level. I think calling it being "Stanton-ed" adequately sums up the situation.

Snakebit

You know who has really bad luck? Drew Stanton. First, an injury in a bowl game cost him a large part of a season as starting QB at MSU. Then he gets drafted by the Lions. Next, he's injured and loses a season. He recovers, but the Lions draft Matthew Stafford. Stafford has spent a large part of his career injured, but the Lions seemed unwilling to give Stanton a shot, even going so far as to get Daunte Culpepper out of retirement. So Stanton finally leaves the Lions and goes to the Jets with a chance to become the backup behind an inconsistent Mark Sanchez. And then the Jets trade for Tim Tebow. Stanton wasn't thrilled with being a #3 QB again and wanted to be traded. Well, he's been traded, but to the Indianapolis Colts, who will take a QB (probably Andrew Luck, irony?) in the draft. On the bright side, as Trevor Vittatoe (who?) is currently the only other QB on the roster, Stanton pretty much has the backup role to himself.

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Lions QB Shaun Hill has a broken finger. Do you think the Lions will let Drew Stanton start, or will they bring someone out of the stands to play QB instead?

Release Him

I agree with Terry Foster: Since the Lions obviously have no faith in Drew Stanton, they ought to release him. What's the point of keeping him around if you're going to start a QB with a broken arm rather than let him take the snaps?

Start Stanton

As much as it pains me to write this, I completely agree with Terry Foster.

Embarrassing

If Lions offensive coordinator Jim Colletto is afraid that Drew Stanton will embarrass himself if given the chance to start, what exactly does he think the rest of the Lions offense is doing right now? They're not exactly covering themselves in glory. I'm pretty sure he's the one who ought to be embarrassed.

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The Lions don't seem to want to give Drew Stanton a chance to start, but they're taking a look at Daunte Culpepper? I think they just might run the table.

#1

Calvin Johnson has ended his holdout, signing a contract with the Detroit Lions worth $64 million, $27 million guaranteed. Johnson participated in camp today, practicing with the first team. In other news, the Lions place Drew Stanton on injured reserve after arthroscopic knee surgery, ending his season.

Progress Report

Barely a week later and the newest Detroit Lions look good, according to Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News. Calvin Johnson showed the skills that made him the #2 pick in the draft on the first day of mini-camp, even though he was a little under the weather and somewhat out of shape from all the draft festivities. Second round pick Drew Stanton is working on his mechanics with offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who's breaking him down so he can build him back up. Said Martz: "He had great success doing what he was doing. We can help him even more." I don't know about you, but I'm very interested to see what Martz can make out of the raw material he has in Stanton. Better throwing with great feet and a gunslinger mentality could make Stanton a real threat.

Go right through for MSU

Watch the points keep growing. They certainly did on Saturday as the Spartans put up 61 against the Fighting Illini. In the process MSU set the school record for offense, 705 yds, and set a team record for TD passes (7), which also tied the Big Ten mark. Drew Stanton set the Spartan record for TD passes by throwing 5 before he sat out much of the second half. The 705 yards of offense tops the previous best of 698 vs. Purdue in 1971, State also approached this mark earlier in the season with a 685 yd effort against Kent State. MSU is averaging 594.3 yards of offense a game. Next up: Michigan, who lost the battle of the ill-tempered rodents to the Badgers Saturday night.